Comments on: Five reasons you shouldn’t design your own logo

By: Bronwyn Durand

Bronwyn Durand — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:59:49 +0000

As an on-demand marketer who is really serious about helping Clients only spend what they really need to to achieve their objectives, I’m often faced with this discussion. I agree wholeheartedly – there is something that takes your business to a whole new level when you have a professional logo to have as your own. If you are self-employed or at the beginnings of your business, it is psychologically powerful tool in making everything more real and focused. I am a firm believer in starting any marketing you do with a clear brand and identity – it makes everything you do so much more effective and so much easier. If you do it yourself, you will never be sure how good it really is as it is coloured by your subjective opinion. One of the biggest obstacles in marketing your own business is that you are so hands on in your business that it’s hard to have objectivity. If you intend to make as much of a success in your business as you can, start with something you can build on, done by someone with experience and an understanding of what you want to convey and be as a business. Spend your time doing what you are best at and get a professional to turn your vision into your logo.

By: Fiona Humberstone

Fiona Humberstone — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:14:30 +0000

You’re right: a great logo won’t save a bad business model. But I know for sure that if the business model is good, the marketing and financial plan sound then a great identity will win you more business. You’ll find it easier to attract, engage and retain your target audience.

I wonder if the cupcake business has also been more successful because *you*, the personality, have been there selling, and people have been able to taste and smell the product. When you’re running an online business you don’t have that sensory experience – your website has to do all the selling.

Of course you have to keep your costs to a minimum when you start up. But I sincerely believe that if you’re serious about making your startup a success, then you can’t scrimp on your identity. That doesn’t mean blowing twenty grand, but it does mean making a decent investment. It will pay off if you use a decent agency who understand how to tap into your audience. And I do think that a strong brand identity will be a revenue generating activity!

By: Denise Allen

Denise Allen — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:58:57 +0000

I wholeheartedly agree with all that you’ve said here Fiona. However, the problem is that for some people, perhaps most people, the overriding objective when you start out as a sole trader is to save cost wherever possible. By trade I’m an accountant; when I coach my colleagues as their Finance Manager, my advice is to avoid unnecessary spend whenever and wherever possible – keep your overheads low and concentrate on revenue making activities. I stand by all of that – as a Finance Manager. At the same time, in the last year I have started two business ventures of my own, one selling home accessories, the other cupcakes and cookies. For the former, I designed my own logo and was reasonably proud of it (as a home effort) but for Cupcake and Cookie Central I asked a friend who is a freelance graphic designer if she could help, which she did. During the past year, the logo and branding for the cupcake business has received many complimentary comments, especially as I have followed it through on a limited range of collateral – display banners, business cards and – to some degree- my website (which is where I will possibly ask you for your help later in the year). The homewares logo has not enjoyed the same praise, or the business the same success! So, yes, I concur with your opinion that professional help does indeed pay dividends in making your enterprise looked more professional and, indeed, loved and valued! But was it just the logo that has made the baking business more successful? Partly in my view; the other element is that your base business idea needs to be sound, and there is real demand for your product….its all a balance – a combination that makes one idea a success where another is not.
In hindsight I’m pleased I spent a bit of time and money in asking a professional to provide me with my logo, it makes me feel I’m really investing in my business and its future (and in my belief that it will work), but I will always spend money thoughtfully and in a considered manner the accountant in me wouldn’t have it any other way.